In Baltimore, the undefeated standard for a cannoli is Vaccaro’s. And that’s where I went, one warm summer night for a nice little treat. Of course I got the cannoli, but I also saw so many lovely flavors of Granita…I just had to try one.
Yum! Yum and Yum! It didn’t disappoint. As my tastebuds had a flavor party, it really reminded me of my childhood, growing up in Brooklyn eating Italian Icees from the pizzeria. Granitas are Sicilian in origin, but are available throughout Italy. The semi-frozen dessert is made from sugar, water and usually a wild card fruit ingredient or flavoring.
The texture is coarser than sorbet because of the way it’s frozen and manipulated during the freezing process. The wonderful thing about granitas is that it’s so easy to make. With just three ingredients, I took my shot at making a watermelon granita for myself (using frozen watermelon).
Watermelon is just one choice. Let me Bubba Gump some of the other options: wild strawberry, mandarin orange, mint, jasmine and granitas made with any number of juices. Lemon juice is a popular choice. Chocolate granitas are also a popular choice that originated from the port city of Catalina, Italy.
Check out this watermelon granita recipe from LiveEatLearn.com.
Multi Cultural Cooking Network 